The Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa is a judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the second-highest judicial post in the Republic of South Africa, after the Chief Justice. The post, originally called "Deputy President of the Constitutional Court", was created in September 1995 by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Second Amendment Act, 1995, which was an amendment to the Interim Constitution. The position was retained by the final Constitution which came into force in February 1997. In November 2001 the Sixth Amendment of the

Constitution of South Africa The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Gover ...

restructured the judiciary, and the post was renamed to "Deputy Chief Justice". The first Deputy President of the Constitutional Court was

Ismail Mahomed Ismail Mahomed SCOB SC (5 July 1931 – 17 June 2000) was a South African lawyer who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa and the Chief Justice of Namibia, and co-authored the constitution of Namibia. Early life Mahomed was born in Pre ...

. In 1997 he became Chief Justice, and was replaced by Pius Langa, who continued as Deputy Chief Justice after 2001. Justice Langa was elevated to Chief Justice in 2005, and succeeded by Dikgang Moseneke. Moseneke retired on 20 May 2016.

List of deputy chief justices

(1995 – 1997; as Deputy President of the Constitutional Court) * Pius Langa (2001 – 2005) * Dikgang Moseneke (2005 – 2016) *

Bess Nkabinde Baaitse Elizabeth "Bess" Nkabinde (born 1959 in Silwerkrans) is a former judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa. Early life Nkabinde (née Motsatsi) was born in 1959 in Silwerkrans, in what was then the western Transvaal (and is n ...

(2016 – 2017) *

Raymond Zondo Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi "Ray" Zondo (born 4 May 1960) is a South African judge who is currently serving as Chief Justice of South Africa since 2022. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as South Africa's new chief justice with effect ...

(June 2017 - April 2022) *

Mandisa Maya Mandisa Muriel Lindelwa Maya Mlokoti (born March 20, 1964) is the first female South African Deputy Chief Justice. She is also the first female jurist who has served as President of the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa (SCA) since 26 Ma ...

(1 September 2022-)

References

External links

Constitutional Court of South Africa
{{Constitutional Court of South Africa Judiciary of South Africa Constitutional Court of South Africa